OFF THE WIRE
by Madeline Healey
/moreland-leader.whereilive.com.au
MORELAND police fear an innocent bystander could be hit or killed by a stray bullet after the latest in a string of brazen shootings.
A Glenroy man was stabbed five times and then shot at while visiting a Coburg car wash about 5pm last Tuesday.
Moreland detective Sgt Paul O’Connell said there had been a confrontation between the man and two others at the car wash, on the corner of Sydney Rd and Sheffield St. The 34-year-old then ran down nearby Inca Way, where he was shot at several times with a handgun, but not hit.
Sgt O’Connell said witnesses reported hearing two bursts of gunfire and it was lucky no one had been shot, given it happened in a busy part of the suburb.
The man, known to police, was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital and underwent surgery for non-life-threatening stab wounds.
The incident is the latest in a string of shootings in Moreland.
On November 28, Bandidos motorcycle club bikie Toby Mitchell was hit but not killed by shots fired in the carpark of Brunswick’s Barkly Square shopping centre. The shots also hit a car carrying children.
In August, there was a double-fatality shooting inside a panel beaters in Florence St, Brunswick.
On June 28, a family home in Hilda St, Glenroy, was hit by shots fired from two cars, while on June 19 shots were fired from a car on the Western Ring Rd overpass.
Sgt O’Connell said police didn’t believe the crimes were linked to the Coburg attack but added that the spate of shootings was a concern.
“It appears we have elements of the community engaging in conduct that’s placing large numbers of people at risk of serious injury or death,” he said.
He asked any witnesses, or anyone who had found bullet holes near the scene, to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
